In other news, the Federal Reserve signaled that interest rates may need to increase sooner (next year) rather than later (2023) to fight inflation.
Meanwhile, the Catholic church is planning to make a big statement against the Biden administration's support for abortion. I guess that's not really news, is it?
Finally, a new record of over 90,000 people were killed by overdoses mostly from opioids last year.
Before the Covid-19 pandemic was the drug epidemic. Its relentless toll added a record 90,722 overdose deaths in the U.S. for the year through November 2020, a grim number obscured by coronavirus casualties that recently topped 600,000, according to federal data released Wednesday.
As the virus transfixed the nation, the drug crisis spread to largely untouched parts of the country -- exacerbated by the recession and millions of job losses. Not only stores and restaurants shuttered: Counseling services moved online, inpatient clinics closed and mobile clinics pulled back. Without support, many Americans relapsed and some turned to drugs for the first time. [...]
Opioids are behind about three-fourths of the overdoses, according to Wednesday’s data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Washington was among the deadliest regions, seeing a 50% surge in deaths.
Some years ago when I severely sprained my shoulder, the doctor I saw did not even prescribe enough for how much pain I was in. I always figured it was because they were afraid I was just there for the opioids, but it actually hurt so bad I couldn't even sleep for an entire day.
We do a terrible job of managing pain in this country and a lot of it stems from the prohibition on other drugs considered "recreational" like marijuana. We banned some drugs while legalizing the more deadly ones because the more deadly drugs are worth more money. No one is overdosing on weed.
This was another slow week under the 'Sleepy Joe' Biden administration, but I am doing my best to maintain a consistent schedule here. Have a good weekend.